the bench amid allegations that a Magistrate called him a coward and ordered him to be taken to a Police station in handcuffs.

Crown counsel Larry Mussenden went to Hamilton Police Station, accompanied by an officer, and spent 20 minutes there following a courtroom row with controversial Magistrate Edward King.

Mr. King said he ordered Police officers to prevent Mr. Mussenden from leaving the court because of his "rude'' behaviour.

A source inside the court said Mr. Mussenden left Magistrates' Court after Mr.

King ordered him to be put in handcuffs and taken to Hamilton Police Station.

Police spokesman Coleman Easton confirmed Mr. Mussenden went to Hamilton Police Station accompanied by a Police officer, but was not detained. There is no record of charges being filed.

A legal source said the Attorney General's Chambers and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions are "up in arms'' about Mr. King's behaviour.

The heated confrontation occurred in court two yesterday morning after Mr.

King dismissed charges of unlawfully entering a house and assault against Albert Allen and Dean Eve.

Mr. King said he dismissed the charges because it was the fifth time the prosecution had brought the case before him when witnesses were missing.

A court source said it was the third time the case had come to court. On two previous occasions, a defendant did not show up and the court was too busy.

A legal source said tensions between Mr. King and Mr. Mussenden had been brewing all week following "insensitive'' remarks made by the magistrate.

Mr. King, earlier in the day, told The Royal Gazette yesterday: "Mr.

Mussenden was not cited for contempt, he was not arrested and he was not put behind bars.

"This was the fifth time this week that he appeared before me with no prosecution witnesses and I dismissed the case.

"The reason I dismissed the case was because there were no witnesses and in his words, he `knew not their whereabouts'.

Lawyer clashes with King "I was talking to Mr. Mussenden and Mr. Mussenden was being rude to me. I asked the officers not to let him leave the court because he was being rude to the bench and they tried to stop him and he walked out.'' He added that after he dismissed the case, Mr. Mussenden "proceeded to tell me I was wrong and all the rest of it and I said we can't have behaviour like that in court.

"Officers were instructed not to let him leave the court because I was still dealing with matters and he pushed the door open and walked out the door and no one put a hand on him.

"He said he was going to the Police station. I don't know what he was going out there for.'' He added: "He probably went and made complaints. Anything that happened afterwards is hearsay.'' A court source said Mr. King reeled off the number of cases he had dismissed that week and when Mr. Mussenden said he should be fair and grant the adjournment, the magistrate allegedly told Mr. Mussenden to "shut up and sit down otherwise he knew where he would be going''.

Mr. Mussenden is said to have replied: "That's fine, I'm prepared to go'' and said he was holding back from saying what he wanted to say.

The source claimed Mr. King told Mr. Mussenden to "say what he had to say'' and repeatedly called him a "coward''.

At that point, Mr. Mussenden packed his files up and walked to the door and Mr. King is said to have asked the Police officers to stop him from leaving.

The source said: "Mr. Mussenden said: `I'm going back to my office or the Police station if that's where you want to send me,' and Mr. King shouted at the top of his voice `put the handcuffs on him and take him to the Police station'.'' Mr. Mussenden walked to the Police station, followed by a Police officer on the assumption that it was an order of the court, said the source. He was not in handcuffs.

Another legal source said: "This has been brewing up between them all week.

Earlier this week Ed King made some insensitive remarks towards Larry. "King ordered him to be taken to Hamilton Police Station in handcuffs and that's when Larry walked out. I heard that King made a joke about it later and claimed he didn't mean it.

"The Attorney General's department is up in arms about it. There was someone from the AG's department there and they couldn't believe King's behaviour.

It's getting a little bit absurd.'' Mr. Easton said: "We can confirm that Mr. Mussenden did go to the Police station. He was accompanied by an officer but he left very soon afterwards and returned to court.

"He was not detained at the Police station and to my knowledge, no charges were filed.'' Mr. Mussenden was not in handcuffs, he added.

The Attorney General's Chambers declined to comment on the incident and Mr.

Mussenden could not be contacted.

Mr. King could not be contacted last night to comment on the claim that he ordered Mr. Mussenden to be taken from the court in handcuffs or that he called him a coward. Mr. King is a controversial figure on the bench. Last month he accused prosecutors of "watering down'' robbery charges. In August, a judge ruled that Mr. King had improperly exercised his discretion when he remanded two teenagers convicted of $10 robbery in custody for two weeks pending preparation of a social inquiry report.